Santa Cruz Mountain communities clean debris, prepare for more rain

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ByEric Thomas KGO logo
Thursday, January 5, 2017
SC Mountain communities clean debris, prepare for more rain
With little time to dry out since Wednesday's storms, communities in the Santa Cruz Mountains are cleaning debris and preparing for another round of rain.

SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS, Calif. (KGO) -- Communities in the Santa Cruz Mountains haven't dried out from Wednesday's storms and still have to get ready for the ones coming this weekend.

Donna Smith said Wednesday marked the second time since last fall that runoff from across Highway 9 left her property a muddy mess. "My daughter called me and said, 'Mom, you better come take a look at this.'"

Smith and her husband Glenn own the SLV Swim Center in Ben Lomond and a handful of cabins that sit on two acres surrounding it. "It's frustrating, totally and completely frustrating," said Glenn.

They believe the slide was caused by an overflowing creek in the hills that overwhelmed the culverts meant to divert the water and they've called a trip out of town off to stay behind and clean things up ahead of the next storm.

While the Smiths were trying to get ahead of the next system, some residents came down to see what Wednesday's storm did to the San Lorenzo River.

"It's really high," said Autumn Anstey of Boulder Creek. "More than you think it would be. We have a rain gauge and since Tuesday night we've had 10 to 11 inches."

These communities have just a couple of days to prepare for another similar blast of rain.

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